1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to training grenade devices and more particularly to a military training grenade which uses a high intensity flash to simulate an explosion in a time delayed fashion when thrown and/or a sonic device such as a buzzer for indicating activation or arming.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To date there is no way for the military to train with grenades in a completely safe manner. Present training or practice grenades use black powder and pyrotechnic delays to simulate grenade operation. The simulation consists of a small puff of white smoke and a loud popping noise after a short delay upon its release. Because an explosive charge is involved there is always some measure of danger involved. Consequently, there has been a long standing need for realistic training or practice grenades that do not rely on explosive charges (e.g. black powder and pyrotechnic delays) to simulate their operation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,117, issued to Gott on Jul. 24, 1984, there is disclosed a grenade that activates a light bulb to flash upon impact with the ground or other rigid surface. While the device in Gott works well as a toy it fails as a realistic military training grenade for various reasons. The grenade must impact for the light bulb to activate and the impact must occur at its forward impacting surface. In addition, the grenade requires fin stabilizers to properly position the grenade for impact, and therefore cannot be shaped like common U.S. Army military type grenades. These characteristics make the grenade in Gott unsuitable for military use. There is also no mention or suggestion in providing a delayed operation from release or a means for indicating that the grenade has become activated.